2023 Trends in Identity Report: Identity Theft Resource Center Sees 118 Percent Increase in Job Scams; Google Voice Remains Top Scam

By PR Newswire On Jun 27, 2024

In 2023, Google Voice made up 60 percent of the scam reports to the ITRC and was carried out primarily through Facebook and other social media platforms

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity crime, has published its third-annual report that looks at the identity crimes committed against individuals as reported by the victims of those crimes – the ITRC’s 2023 Trends in Identity Report. This year’s report is supported by the ITRC’s Alliance for Identity Resilience.

In the report, the ITRC outlines the identity crimes reported in 2023 and how criminals convinced people to willingly share information. The report also outlines how stolen information was used to open new accounts and evade law enforcement.

“The latest information gleaned from speaking with victims, as well as data from our other reports, shows an environment where identity criminals are more effective, efficient and successful in launching attacks,” said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

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In 2023, the ITRC saw a 16-percentage-point decrease in the number of reported identity crimes (compromise, theft and misuse) compared to 2022. Of those crimes, 53 percent were related to compromised credentials, 38 percent to actual misuse and two (2) percent to attempted misuse. Reports of attempted identity misuse increased by 11 percentage points, most often related to a financial account.

The ITRC also reported the following in 2023:

Overall reports of scams to the ITRC decreased by 18 percentage points in 2023 from the prior year. However, job scams increased by 118 percentage points. Job scams were primarily carried out through websites, typically LinkedIn or job search platforms.
While down by 16 percentage points compared to 2022, Google Voice scams remained the top scam reported to the ITRC. Google Voice scams were mostly carried out through Facebook and other social media platforms.
Scams (78 percent), Lost or Stolen Items (eight (8) percent) and Unauthorized Access to a computer or mobile device (six (6) percent) were the most reported forms of identity compromise.
Existing Account Takeover (52 percent) and New Account Creation (36 percent) were the most reported forms of identity misuse, followed by crimes committed using compromised personal information (five (5) percent) and employment-related identity fraud (five (5) percent).
“Our 2023 Trends in Identity Report highlights many changes in the identity crime landscape, most notably a sharp rise in job scams,” said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “The latest information gleaned from speaking with victims, as well as data from our other reports, shows an environment where identity criminals are more effective, efficient and successful in launching attacks. The result is fewer victims reporting these crimes. However, the impact on people and businesses is arguably more damaging at a time when there are too many identity crime victims and too few resources to help them.”

The ITRC identified the following trends in 2023:

Identity thieves are improving at looking and sounding “legitimate,” thanks in part to generative artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to job postings. Victims are facing more complex types of identity misuse with more severe impacts.
Identity thieves already have enough information to open new lines of credit and other accounts in the names of unsuspecting individuals.

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